She Was My Parabatai
by Jkalime
Summary: Clary's lost nearly everything in the last few months: her parents, her brother's sanity, half of Nephilim kind, and her parabatai's trust. She feels alone in the world. But when a new player rolls into town will Clary have to join forces with her parent's murderer to defeat an even greater evil? This is the SEQUEL to She's My Parabatai! Check that story out before you read this
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone! I am very pleased to bring to you She Was My Parabatai the sequel to She's My Parabatai! I hope you all enjoy this story with a cryptic title ^.^**

Light filtered through the training room windows as I raised my sword and swung at the dummy. After the impact I did it again and again until my arms got tired, forcing me to stop. Training kept my mind at ease; mainly so because I didn't have to think about everything that was going on while I was training.

I didn't have to think about Jace, about how he had betrayed us all. I didn't have to think of the hundreds of shadowhunters and mundanes who had lost their lives in the past week. I didn't have to think about Sebastian, about how he was a shell of who he once was. I didn't have to think about the fragile bond between Izzy and I, a bond so fragile I was afraid one wrong word said would break it.

As I stared at the sword in my hands I realized it didn't feel right. It was too long, too heavy. It didn't gleam in the light like Heosphoros did. But I couldn't even stand to look at my former blade any longer. Every time I looked at it I remembered Jonathan stabbing my mother with it. His words rang true in my heart: it was almost as if I had killed my own mother.

"Clary," a voice from the doorway said. I turned to notice it was Ashton.

"Ash," I said in surprise. "I didn't realize you were back." Due to the recent murdering spree his fellow Ascended class had gone on, Ashton had been questioned for the past week. He had even gone to Idris to be put on trial before the Mortal Sword. I suppose him standing here now meant he knew nothing of the others' plans.

"I got in last night," he said. "Maryse wants us in her office."

"Yeah, okay." I put the sword away and followed Ashton down the hall. "I'm glad to see you weren't incarcerated."

Ash let out a small laugh. "Me too."

As we reached the office I realized that Izzy and Alec were waiting inside along with their parents.

"Great," Maryse said as the two of us entered. "We can begin."

"I want no quarrel over what we are about to say," Robert started. "The four of you will be going to Alicante." He looked at Ashton. "I'm sorry, Ashton, had we known we would have had you stay there, but the order just came in this morning."

"We need you four to escort the newly Ascended back to the Institute," Maryse continued.

"Why do four of us need to escort them through a portal?" Alec asked.

"You won't be using a portal," his mother answered. "You'll be flying to Germany and then a shadowhunter will pick you up at the airport."

"Why aren't we using a portal?" I questioned. It was a far easier way of travel.

Maryse and Robert looked at each other for a moment before they sighed. "The Clave has come to the decision that we will have no contact with downworlders from this point forward, in light of recent evidence that downworlders are working with Jonathan Wayland."

"What?!" Izzy exclaimed. Simon, of course, she wouldn't be able to see Simon anymore, not that her parents knew about him. "Not all downworlders are working with Jonathan."

"Even so," Robert said. "We cannot disobey the law."

" _Sed lex dura lex_ ," Alec spoke in Latin. "My ass."

"Alexander!" Maryse exclaimed.

"Mag- Many downworlders have worked with Nephilim for years and never caused so much as a problem! Alicante wouldn't even be protected if it wasn't for warlock wards." Alec ignored his mother. "All downworlders shouldn't be put in the same category as Jonathan's!"

"We don't want to hear any more of this," Robert said sternly. "We're leaving for the airport in an hour. You all better be packed."

"But first," Maryse said. "Isabelle, Alec, give me your phones. The law says no communication with downworders. That means with mundane technology as well."

"Mom!" Izzy complained.

Maryse slammed her hand down on the table hard enough to cause me to jump. "I've had enough of you two arguing! We are facing a crisis, do you understand? Half of us have been _murdered._ We failed in our jobs as Nephilim and let another hundred mundanes be killed. If never before, now is the time to obey the Clave."

Izzy grumbled and fished her phone out of her pocket placing it in her mother's palm. Maryse then looked at Alec who reluctantly handed his device to her.

"Good, now go pack."

"Sebastian?" I knocked on the door to my brother's room. There was no answer but I let myself in anyway. The room was pitch black but when I turned on the lights I wasn't surprised to see my brother sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed staring at the wall. It was a state I often found him in.

I knelt on the floor next to him. "Sebastian?"

"Jonathan said I'm not supposed to talk to anyone. I'm being punished. No food or water, he said." He wasn't even looking at me, just staring into space.

I sighed. He had been in this state since he had woken up after we rescued him. Brother Zachariah said Jonathan and Damian had messed too much with his mind. Even he couldn't fix it without killing him.

I softly touched Sebastian's shoulder. He made no indication that he felt it. Some days were better than others. Sometimes he was back to his old self and sometimes he was like this.

"I have to go, Seb," I told him.

He finally looked at me and my heart broke when I saw tears in his eyes. "Clary, please don't leave me. The nightmares are constant when you're gone." There was nothing I wanted more than to bring him with us, perhaps even seeing Idris would bring him back to himself. But if Jonathan happened to show up...I didn't know how Sebastian would react.

I wiped a tear from his face. "I'll be back in a few days. Max is going to look after you. He said he'd read you books." Max was the only other person who could get a response out of Sebastian other than me.

"Max?" Sebastian questioned and I nodded.

"Clary!" I heard someone in the hallway shout. My hour was up but I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Sebastian. The door crept open to reveal Izzy. "Sorry, but it's time to go."

When I looked back at Sebastian he was already staring at the wall again. I sighed and followed Izzy out the door.

"Is he going to be alright without you?" She asked me.

"Max is going to look after him," I told her.

"That's not what I meant. What if he has one of his outbursts? You're the only one who can calm him down." The first time Sebastian had an outburst I was scared out of my mind. He was fine one minute and the next screaming and crying about Jonathan killing our family, it was to the point where he even thought that he had killed me. I had to show him that I was fine before he calmed down.

"Robert will have to sedate him-" the words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. Izzy and I hadn't formally talked about what I had done to her but I knew there was a void between us because of it. Each of us had been dancing on the edges ever since. "Izzy-"

"Oh look, Alec." My Parabatai ignored me as we entered the entry hall where Alec was waiting. The eldest Lightwood looked between us and sighed sensing the tension.

"You all ready?" Robert questioned as he and Ashton appeared down another hallway. "Then let's get going. You've got a long journey ahead of you."


	2. Chapter 2

As we glamoured our way through security the four of us found that we still had about an hour until our flight began boarding. We picked a spot next to the gate and let our luggage rest there. I glanced at my Parabatai sitting a few seats away before reaching into my bag.

"Izzy?" I said as I walked up to her. I handed her my phone. It appeared that Robert and Maryse hadn't know Izzy had given me a cell phone. I saw her eyes light up and she smiled, a reaction that I hadn't elicited from her in weeks.

"Thank you, Clary." I smiled back at her as she went off to call Simon.

"That was a nice thing to do," Ashton said sitting in the row of seats opposite me. I walked over and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, hopefully that'll hold things over for eight hours." I glanced around realizing Alec wasn't here. I wasn't sure where he had gone off to.

"You two used to be closer than anything." He let out a laugh. "To be honest, I envied that type of relationship; always having someone you can depend on."

"Yeah, but I ruined it," I told him. He already knew what had happened between us, everyone did. I sighed. "She's never going to forgive me for putting her to sleep against her will."

"Just give it time," Ashton said. "I'm sure she will. I mean if you hadn't done that and she hadn't let you leave then you'd probably wouldn't have saved Alec or Sebastian."

"That's not the point," I said. "I broke her trust. Trust between Parabatai is everything. A broken bond isn't something easily mended. Believe me I think this would be easier if we weren't Parabatai. But because we have the longing to be near each other it's just pushing us further and further apart."

"You Fairchilds and having complicated Parabatai bonds," a familiar voice sighed.

"Magnus?" I whirled my head in his direction. Sure enough the warlock was standing before us with Alec. "What-"

"Ah yes, Matthew Fairchild and James Herondale. Not exactly two peas in a pod like you and Isabelle, more like polar opposites. I still don't know how that bond worked." Magnus shrugged. "No matter. I got us all bumped up to First Class, of course."

"Alec, what's going on here?" I asked."Magnus is accompanying us to Germany," Alec said as if that explained anything.

"Magnus you can't go to Idris," I pointed out. "And if the Clave finds out you're here-"

"Clary, it's a shame you doubt me," the warlock said. "Of course I know that. I'll be off the plane just before it lands. I happen to have some business to attend to in Germany."

I sighed, knowing this was a bad idea but also knowing that there was no way Magnus would listen to reason. The warlock and his shadowhunter boyfriend were soon off, discussing something about having lunch.

"I didn't realize they were so obvious," Ashton laughed. "Honestly how have the Lightwoods not found out about that yet?"

"I think they have noticed," I said. "But I also think they're so in denial about it so they're dismissing any suspicions they have."

"So, basically, that isn't going to go well?"

"Not at all," I replied. I glanced down in my lap as a piece of paper suddenly materialized in front of me. A fire message:

 _It's Sebastian. Call immediately._

"Watch our stuff!" I shouted at Ashton before I ran off in search of a pay phone. Luckily, I found one quickly and shoved change into the machine as I dialed the Institute's number. I tapped my foot impatiently as it rang one, two, three times before someone picked up. Maryse answered and explained the state of panic Sebastian had been in since I left. As soon as I had left the premises he started crying uncontrollably saying Jonathan had killed everyone. After Max's failed attempt to calm him down Maryse had put a 'sleep now' rune on him. But when he awoke he was in the same state and she was afraid using another rune would put him into a coma of sorts.

"Put him on the phone," I told her. I heard her moving into a different room and the next moment I heard Sebastian screaming: "They're all dead! All gone! Jonathan killed them all."

"Sebastian!" I shouted. A couple people in the airport glanced my way but I ignored them. "Sebastian, it's me, it's Clary."

"Lies!" He shouted. "I won't fall for anymore of Jonathan's tricks! I saw him kill Clary, cut her up with Phaesphoros."

"Sebastian, he didn't kill me. I'm fine. He tricked you."

"That's exactly what fake-Clary would say." I sighed. When I had been there, my presence alone was enough to snap Sebastian out of his outburst, but of course he wouldn't believe it if he couldn't see it himself before he had some type of concrete evidence. "Remember when we were kids? You were six and I was five. We were playing in the fields outside the manor. We had taken dad's favorite seraph blade or to play with. And when I lost it you took the blame for me. Sebastian, it's me, it's Clary, your sister."

"Clary?" His voice was softer now, nearly breaking. It was all I could do to stop myself from crying at his voice.

"It's me," I told him again. "It's okay. Max is going to take care of you, okay?"

"Max?" Sebastian questioned.

"Here," I heard Max's voice. "Do you want to help me with my rune drawing practice?"

The phone was taken off speaker and Maryse appeared on the other end. "Thank you, Clary."

"This is a bad idea," I told her. "I shouldn't go to Idris. I'm sure Izzy, Alec, and-"

"No, you're staying on the mission. Four shadowhunters leading back the Ascended is better than three."

"Then what are you going to do when I'm 20,000 feet in the air and can't call if he freaks out again?"

Maryse sighed. "There is another option." I bit my lip. I had known about it for months but it was always intended to be a last resort. "Both Brother Jeremiah and Zachariah said they might be able to help him in the City of Bones."

I sighed, thinking for a moment. They also said it could be dangerous; they could make things worse than they were before. But what other choice did we have? "Fine. Take him there."

As I hung up with Maryse I found her daughter standing next to me. I hadn't even noticed Izzy arrive.

"I..." She started but then stopped and handed me back my phone. I slipped it into my pocket and as we started walking back to our seats she spoke again. "Are you okay?"

"Sebastian's going to the City of Bones and they might mess him up even more than he already is, so, no I'm not okay." I knew my tone was uncalled for; she had been trying. But I was just so tired of dealing with everything that had happened in the last few months. I was so tired of it all and it didn't help that I hated myself for breaking the trust that Izzy and I used to have. Because I knew if I had her to confide in right now, while it wouldn't be a fix all, suddenly everything's okay, it would definitely be more manageable.

Izzy took the hint and didn't reply to me. I sighed. I didn't want to shut her out but I didn't know what else to do. Opening up my heart about my brother to her wasn't going to magically fix things between us.

"Is Sebastian okay?" Ashton asked as we returned to our previous seats.

"He's going to the City of Bones," I said to him. "The Lightwoods can't handle him when he freaks out and I can't be on the other end of the phone to calm him down when we're on the plane or once we reach Idris."

"But didn't they say-"

"That there's a chance they could make things worse and an even slimmer chance they'll make things better? Yes, but I don't know what else to do."

"You could let me place a block in his mind. I told you that might fix him with only minimal memory loss." Magnus and Alec had suddenly reappeared. I was off my game today in noticing people.

"No," I said immediately. I didn't want someone messing around in my brother's mind. Ironically, I had given the Silent Brothers permission to do just that but perhaps the difference was that they were Nephilim. As much as I trust Magnus he was still a warlock and a warlock had done enough damage to Sebastian already. I would never put him through that again.

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for checking out this sequel! I'm so glad you all still enjoy this AU story and hope you'll stick around for the long haul! Don't forget to review, thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

The seats in first class were two to a row. Izzy and I sat together without thinking, obviously Alec and Magnus were together, but Ashton was left alone in the row in front of us with some old guy.

Izzy started watching some god-awful movie so after meal time came and went I closed my eyes to catch a couple hours of sleep.

It was when Izzy started shaking me that I realized I had slept for the entire flight. I was more exhausted than I thought.

As I unbuckled and stepped into the aisle I realized Magnus wasn't lying. He was really gone; he must've teleported himself off the plane already.

"How was your flight?" I asked Ashton as we walked down the plane walkway.

"I mean other than Grant, the guy sitting next to me, constantly asking me every little thing about my life and me having to fabricate a story, it was fine," he said and I laughed slightly.

I spotted Alec with an odd expression on his face. I glanced at Izzy and we approached him. "Alec?"

"He's here," Alec said. I saw that he had his hand on his Parabatai rune. "Jace."

"What?" I started looking around but I couldn't spot the blond shadowhunter.  
"Not directly here," he said.

"Just...somewhere. I don't know how to explain it exactly."

After glamouring our way through customs the four of us found ourselves waiting outside for our designated shadowhunter to arrive to escort us to Idris.

"I don't get where they are," Alec said. "They were supposed to be here as soon as we arrived."

"Maybe there was traffic," Izzy suggested.

About thirty minutes later a car finally rolled up in front of the four of us. "What are you all waiting for?"

Despite everything I almost couldn't contain my joy when I realized who it was. "Luke!" I exclaimed.

The shadowhunter chuckled as he stepped out of the car and I ran up to hug him. I had seen Luke since my father's funeral. He had gone on some sort of sabbatical after his death; he had been my father's Parabatai.

Luke pulled me aside for a minute. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother." I could see real sorrow in his eyes. I knew he had been close to my mother as well. "I wish I could have came to New York for her funeral, but you know..."

Of course, funerals were usually held in Idris but just before my mother's the Institutes had been attacked. In light of the events the Lightwoods had decided to hold at small funeral at the Institute instead for her. The rest of the Nephilim community had their own to grieve for. And the rest of the shadowhunters had been dealing with the problem at hand: finding the Ascended.

"It's okay, thank you," I told him.

"You're tough, Clary," he said. "But don't be afraid to let someone in." I saw him glance at Izzy. He had been near us for five minutes and already he had seen the shaken bond we had. Was it that obvious?

We met the others back at the car and I climbed into the passenger seat. "How are the twins?" I asked him as we started to pull away from the airport.

"Jay and Juliette are just fine," Luke said. "They have an unlimited supply of energy, let me tell you that. But I guess that's what you get with five year olds. Speaking of, Gwen wants you four to have dinner with us tonight. I don't have to take you back to the airport until tomorrow."

"Of course," I said. I just really wanted to spend more time with Luke and see his family. He had basically been family to Sebastian and I growing up.

After a while of driving Luke pulled up in front of a house. "This isn't Idris," Alec pointed out the obvious.

"We're just making a pitstop," he said as he got out of the car.

"Clary stop!" Alec suddenly yelled. I was the further from the group, the closet to the front door.

"Get inside," Luke insisted. He had already opened the front door. "Please."

Izzy grabbed my wrist and dragged me backwards. I knew something was wrong.  
"Get out here!" Alec yelled to the open door. "This bond goes both ways you know?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice," a voice said as a figure stepped from the doorway. It was Jace Herondale.

Alec ignored his own warning and stalked up to the blond. He got a fist full of Jace's shirt. "Think I wouldn't notice? Do you know how much this bond physically hurts me now that you're gone? You didn't think I'd notice the relief of pain? The feeling that you were near?" His Parabatai was silent causing Alec to tighten his grip on  
Jace's shirt. "Say something, dammit!"

And then Jace said the last thing anybody expected him to say: "I'm sorry." He reached to touch Alec's exposed Parabatai rune but before his finger's brushed the dark ink Alec pushed him away.

"Don't," he said curtly. If I didn't know any better I'd say Jace almost looked sad but a moment later any indication of his sadness was gone from his face as another figure appeared behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jonathan Wayland said. I already had a dagger in my hand but I realized he wasn't looking at me but at Izzy who had her whip ready. "I could throw you around like dolls again until you break but what fun is that? How about a nice breakfast instead?" He motioned for us to enter the house.

"And why would we ever go anywhere with you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I wanted to kill him.

"Hmm? Lucian, why don't you tell Clary what I took from you?" I looked towards Luke. I could see it now, something was wrong. Why couldn't I before? Was it because I'd never thought Luke would betray me?

"He has Amatis," Luke said with urgency. "He said he'd kill her if I didn't bring you here."

That got my blood boiling again. Here Jonathan was trying to pull yet another family apart. I wouldn't let him do that, not to Luke.

"I also said I'd let her go if you four did as I asked," Jonathan pointed out.

"Why should we believe anything you say?" I asked remembering how he had lied to me just weeks before. Jonathan had no honor.

He sighed and then snapped his fingers a couple times. Half a moment later two people emerged from the doorway, one shadowhunter holding back the other.  
"George!" Ashton exclaimed. There was a mix of surprise and horror in his voice.

But George Lovelace didn't even so much as glance at his former friend as he pushed Amatis towards her brother. Luke caught her before she fell and started to remove her restraints.

"Take that as bit of a peace offering," Jonathan suggested. "But remember Idris isn't warded against me, as I am a fellow Nephilim. I can take whoever, whenever I want. So I suggest you do as I say and have breakfast with me." The four of us didn't move causing Jonathan to sigh. "You have my word I'll allow you to be on your way to Idris soon enough."

I didn't trust Jonathan for obvious reasons but as I looked towards Luke and Amatis I remembered Luke's children, Jay and Juliette. What if we didn't comply and Jonathan took them next time? I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I sighed as I returned my dagger to my jacket and I saw Jonathan smile. I saw Izzy coil her whip back up and she noticed me standing down.

Jonathan smiled and stepped aside from the doorway so there was room for us to enter the house. But as we started moving he stopped us. "Only you three." He was referring to Izzy, Alec and I. "You," he pointed at Ashton. "Can stay here with Lucian and Amatis."

I saw Ashton start to argue but I looked at him and shook my head. It was better if he was out here anyhow, in case something were to happen to us.

Jace led us inside, Jonathan and George bringing up the end behind us and as we entered the house I heard the heavy door slam shut behind us.

 **A/N: What? A new chapter? After so many months? Yes, I am sorry. I've had a really hectic** **fall quarter at school. But not to worry, I am still writing this story and tomorrow you'll get a new chapter too! Thank you for continuing to read and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

It was a house as any would expect and as we entered the hall Jace led us into a dining room. There were six places set at the table but it could have easily sat a dozen people.

Jonathan sat at the head, Jace and George sat on either sides of him. "Alec you will sit by your Parabatai, won't you?" The Wayland suggested.

I saw Alec stare at the empty seat next to Jace for a moment before he went to sit down in it. That only left the two seats next to George. I ended up sitting next to him with Izzy at my left.

"Then let breakfast be served." Jonathan rang a little bell that was on the table. Food suddenly appeared on the plates in front of us. Eggs, bacon, and the sorts. "Courtesy of my warlock, though she does not want to make herself known."

I stared at the food as the three boys started to dig into it. When Jonathan noticed the three of us weren't eating he sighed. "It's not poisoned. There are much easier, and more fun ways, for me to kill you, trust me."

I stared at him as I stabbed a piece of ham and started to chew it. When I didn't keel over dead, Izzy and Alec started eating too.

It was only when we finished eating that Jonathan spoke again. "Now you're probably wondering why I brought you all here and I just want to clear the air."

"Clear the air?" I exclaimed before I could stop myself. "You killed my parents and you expect me to forgive you?"

"Not forgive no, understand," Jonathan said. "I didn't wake up one day and decide to kill the Morgansterns, no. Did you know Valentine killed my father?" He was lying, he had to be. My father wouldn't hurt anybody, not in that way. "I'll spare you the details but my father found out something Valentine didn't want anybody to know so he killed my father for it. Would have killed me too in that house fire if Hodge hadn't rescued me and brought me to the mundane world."

I didn't believe a word of what Jonathan was saying. Other than today with Amatis when had he earned the right to my trust?

"You're probably wondering why I'm doing all this," Jonathan kept speaking. "Why I recruited most of the Ascended world-wide and had them kill their brother and sister Nehpilim, why I've aligned myself with the downworlders when we shadowhunters are supposed to fight against them.

"The answer is simple: the Clave is corrupt. They wouldn't listen to my father when he attempted to have Valentine punished for his actions. They did nothing to investigate my father's murder. I cannot tell you how many Nephilim that have joined my ranks who have the same experience as me with the Clave." He looked at George. "How many of your fellow would be-Ascended died thanks to the Clave."

"Fourteen this year," George answered. "Not counting the two who died earlier this week." I realized something at that moment. Jace had been so adamant that George was the mole. Was he trying to warn us then?

Jonathan smiled. "And Jace? What did the Clave do instead of throughly investigating your parents death? Hmm?"

"They wrote it off as a simple house fire to the public and wouldn't investigate the perpetrator when they figured out it was arson," Jace answered.

"And what about you, Clary?" Me? What was Jonathan talking about? "The Clave stopped investigating your father's death. They insisted that it wasn't a fellow shadowhunter and wouldn't question anyone." What he said was true but-

"And Alexander, Isabelle, isn't it the Clave who are forbidding you from contacting those special downworlders?" The Lightwoods didn't speak but I saw Izzy grip her napkin tighter.

"Everyone in this room has some grievance against the Clave, five young shadowhunters who have only been subjects of the Clave for eighteen years at the most," Jonathan said. "Can you imagine what the Clave has done to other shadowhunters? How they've neglected them? How they forced them to conform to their laws with a simple _sed lex dura lex._ "

I hated a tiny part of myself that believed what Jonathan was saying...some of his points made too much sense. I was mad at the Clave for not investigating, until we found out it was Jonathan that was behind everything. I was angry at them for not allowing my Parabatai to see the one she loved. But...they were also the Clave.

"Sure, I had my own reasons for wanting to kill the Morgensterns and the vampires. But when it comes down to it, Clary, you and your brother as just as much a victim of the Clave as the rest of us are. There was no way I could justifiably kill you."

Those words snapped the tiny part of me that had started believing Jonathan away. He wasn't trying to kill us? As if I believed that. He was going to kill Sebastian before Simon arrived. And he had tried to kill me before that. All that he was saying was lies.

"I only want to bring in a new age of Nephilim," Jonathan continued. "Do away with the corrupt Clave. Find a way to stop the death of would be-Ascended during the ceremony, fix our relationships with the downworlders, and do our jobs as shadowhunters."

"Are you done?" I finally asked. I was fed up with him trying to justify his actions, his cause. There was no way I'd ever believe him. He was a murderer, a psychopath.

Jonathan sighed. "Mull over what I have said before you make a decision. I'm hoping you'll make the right one." He stood. "Jace, could you show them out?"

Alec caught Jace's arm in the hallway, halting us as we neared the front door. "Jace, please, come back with us." I hadn't thought Alec would utter those words. "I'll forgive you. He's manipulating you, can't you see that? You don't need him. You have us, you have _me_. Isn't that enough?"

Jace sighed. "You don't understand, Alec. Jonathan has never made me do something I don't want to do. He's the one who's going to lead the Nephilim to greatness."

Alec let go of Jace and stepped away. "You're lost..." he realized.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Jace said as he began leading us again. As we approached the front door he opened it and stepped aside. "Have a safe trip to Idris."

Alec didn't so much as glance at his Parabatai as he walked past Jace. I took a glance at the blond as he closed the door. I sighed and made my way over to the car.

"Clary!" Luke exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, they had Amatis and I-"

"It's fine," I told Luke. I knew something about Jonathan stealing a sibling. I knew firsthand how it felt to want to do anything to get them back. "I understand."

"What did he want?" Ashton questioned.

"They illogically thought we'd sympathize with their cause," Alec said as he climbed into the passenger's seat. It was the only way the six of us would fit now in a five person car. Us three girls and Ashton would have to squeeze in the back.

"Which was...?"

"They're trying to bring down the Clave," I told him. We were faced with a dilemma. The car was too small; there was no way four of us could sit in the three seats. One of us would have to sit on somebody's lap. And me being the smallest... "They think they're corrupt or something." Amatis was sitting in the middle, there was less room, so that only left two options: Izzy or Ashton. I chose the lesser of the two evils as I sat on Izzy's lap on the left side of the car. She didn't object.

"You should tell the Clave everything, at least where they are maybe-" Luke was cut off as he begun to drive away from the house, seeing us situated in the backseat.

"We can't," Izzy was the one to speak.

I nodded, on the same page with her. "We're not chancing Jonathan kidnapping or hurting anyone else. What he said is true: he can freely go to Idris."

I heard Alec let out a slight gasp of pain. He touched his Parabatai rune and looked up when he noticed we were staring at him. "I- Jace is gone. Probably teleported somewhere with Jonathan again, somewhere far." We wouldn't have been able to tell the Clave where they were anyway.

We were powerless against Jonathan. We were powerless against the Clave, thinking of their downworlder ban. I was powerless to help Sebastian. I glanced at Izzy. I was powerless to seal the rift between us. I didn't know what to do. There shouldn't have been any hesitation today when I needed to find a place in the car. Before everything, Izzy would have been probably sat on me for the laughs. Now I tiptoed around her as if on glass, scared of saying the wrong thing.

So lost in my own thoughts, I didn't hear Luke shout a warning about the pothole we were about to hit. Even without the warning I was still a Shadowhunter, trained for my entire life. I should have had enough coordination to grab onto the safety bar. But next thing I knew my head was an inch from the glass window on the right side of the car. I realized as my face turned red the only thing that had stopped me from going out of it was Ashton's grip on me. Somehow, I had slid across the entirety of the back seat.

"Are you okay?" The boy I was sitting on asked me. I managed a "mhmm" and a slight nod. I could practically feel Izzy grinning and snickering on the other side of the backseat. Save for family and the blond I didn't want to think about I had never been this close to a boy before.

We had come to a red light. It would have been easy for me to scoot my way back to Izzy, to actually hold onto the safety bar this time. But something anchored me. Perhaps it was Ashton tightening his grip around my waist as the light turned green and we were off.

 **A/N: Here's the chapter I promised! It has probably one of my favorite scenes of this story thus far :D How do you all feel about Clary and Ashton? Hehe. Next update hopefully coming soon! Let me know your feedback, I'd love to hear it!**


	5. Chapter 5

As we approached the manor house I found myself questioning why I had said we'd stay at the Morgenstern Manor in the first place. It had been my idea after all. At the time I thought I'd have to face the Manor sometime as Sebastian and I were the owners of it now. But as we got closer I felt myself filling with dread, remembering when Sebastian and I had come home to find out my father was dead.

I tried to keep a blank face as we begun to pull up the familiar drive, because I was still sitting in Ashton's lap. Either I had a horrible poker face or he saw through it as he whispered my name quietly, "Clary?" There was only concern in his voice.

When Luke pulled up in front of the manor I probably exited the car much too quickly as Ashton opened the door. It felt good to get fresh air, to be free, to not have-

"You're not to collect the Ascended until tomorrow morning," Luke started as he got out of the car. "So feel free to come over when you guys are done unpacking, if you feel like it," he offered.

"Thanks, Luke," I said to him, before finally facing my old home. It looked exactly the same, albeit darker and more empty looking. If I tried I could have imagined my father sitting in his study while my mother was cooking dinner.

I felt a hand grasp mine, recognizing the familiar shape of Izzy. She was offering me a kind, sympathetic smile. I tried to return one and gave her hand a squeeze before I let go to walk away and bid farewell to Luke as he drove off down the drive. It was still odd to see a vehicle in Idris. Only a few were allowed and were only to be used for transport to and from the neighboring nations. Luke was one of the few who owned one.

I turned back towards the manor, sighing before I walked up to the front door. I unlocked the door with an open rune. I hadn't even thought to bring my key or ask Luke if he had one. Unlocking the door to my childhood home had been the last thing on my mind.

It was dark inside as I found the curtains had been pulled over the windows. Surprisingly they weren't coated in dust as I opened them to find the living room largely how I remembered it. Someone must have been in here to clean up recently.

"Alec you can take Sebastian's room and Ash you can-" I stoped short as I turned back to face my friends. I realized we didn't have a guest room. Sure, there were plenty of other rooms in the house but those had their own purposes: training, weapons, art studio, etc. The only other room with a bed was my parent's room. Well, it had been my parent's room.

"It's fine," Ashton said. "I'll take the couch." Was my face that much of an open book? The only other person who could do that was Izzy.

"No," I decided. Our sofa had been lumpy at best. I wasn't going to let him sleep there. Not when there was a perfectly good bedroom for him. "You can sleep in here." I began leading him to the first floor bedroom without giving myself time to chicken out. I would have to deal with it sometime.

Inside, I found that someone had packed my parent's belongings. Only the furniture remained. And the bed even had new linen on it. "There's a bathroom there-" I told Ashton as I pointed to the open door on the other side of the room. "And I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

When I turned around I found Ashton much closer than I had left him. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" I could tell he wasn't just referring to him sleeping in my parent's room. He was talking about being in the manor again. "It's okay if you're not."

"I'm fine," I lied as I quickly brushed past him. I moved so fast I made it to my room before I realized on more thing: Izzy and I had fallen into our old pattern. She was sitting on my bed as I came into the room.

"Did I ever tell you how much I loved this room?" My Parabatai asked as she stared outside the great bay window.

"Only every time you came over," I answered her as I unzipped my suitcase. I had only brought two changes of clothes, things that didn't even really warrant unpacking, but I needed something to do with my hands.

I froze when I opened the top drawer of my dresser to find the fragile object inside. The gift my father had given me that was the most precious to me, a music box. I hadn't taken it to New York with me, when I had left. It had been too painful to even look at, much less bring along.

"Clary, are you okay?" Izzy jerked me from my thoughts. I threw my clothes in the drawer, moving the porcelain box to the top of the dresser, out of the way.

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?" I snapped, as I slammed the drawer shut.

"Because we're concerned for you Clary-"

"You're concerned for me? That's rich." I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my mouth. Any caring expression Izzy had on her face disappeared.

She crossed her arms as she stood up. "Maybe I'll just leave you here to fester with your childhood memories." Stubborn, I refused to look at her as she walked past stopping for a moment, perhaps considering not leaving, before she finally left my room.

When the door shut I slumped down to the floor, leaning against my dresser. Why had I said that? She was trying, why couldn't I?

"Stupid," I mumbled to myself as I banged the back of my head on the dresser. It wobbled, I had forgotten how unstable it was. I hit my head on it again. This time, however, I heard a terrifying crash.

Wide-eyed I scrambled to the other side of the dresser to see the music box lay shattered on the floor. I reached towards one of the dozens of pieces, hissing as I pricked myself. It was broken. The music box was broken. The last real thing I had from my father was gone.

And it was there, on the floor of my bedroom, that I finally let it all out. I hadn't wept, not really, for my father. I had been too much in shock and confusion to manage more than a few tears. I hadn't cried for my mother at all, not even at her funeral. I hadn't left myself feel the loss for either of them, not completely.

Jonathan had been the only thing on my mind. Get to him and serve justice. Their deaths would be avenged and it would be okay. Sebastian would be okay. Izzy and I would be okay.

But standing still like I had been wasn't helping anything. Sebastian was still lost in his mind. Izzy felt like an ocean away. Jonathan hadn't been apprehended. The wounds my parent's death gave me hadn't healed.

My door creaked open and I didn't have to lift my head to see who it was. "Go away..." I said quietly, almost in a whisper.

Izzy remained for a moment before leaving my room again because that's who she was. I had been the one to snap at her, but she still came back. I had been the one to ruin her trust but she was trying. I didn't deserve someone like her. She was far better than me.

They ended up leaving for Luke's without me sometime later. Izzy had given me another chance that I had met with silence.

The sun was setting, dimming my room. I would have to get up soon to turn on the light or sit in dark despair. When a knock came at my door I was surprised. Was Izzy trying again? Hadn't she left? "Izzy-" I cut myself off, unsure of what to say.

The door opened. "I'm not Izzy," Ashton said as he stood in my doorway. Hearing his voice I had lifted my head up. He held his hand out to me. "Come on."

"I don't want to go to Luke's," I told him. Not like this. I couldn't do that to him. He seemed so put together considering everything that had happened.

"We're not going to Luke's." His hand was still held out. And perhaps curiosity got the best of me because I reached out my hand to take it, letting him pull me up.

 **A/N: Dun dun dun! It's a new chapter! Also, Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had fun writing it hehe. And...I have a little surprise for you all! I will be posting a new story titled Blood or Love: A Shadowhunters Tale. Originally I wasn't going to publish it until this story was almost finished but I've decided to do it soon! Check out the excerpt below and let me know what you think!**

"Brady isn't one of you, he hasn't been for a long time," I said. Years ago I remember that he had been. He was one of the regular customers at Coast Diner. Blood-lust changed all that.

"The fact remains that you aren't either," the red-headed vampire pointed out. " _Nephilim."_ He stat the word with such hatred that he barred his fangs at me.

I just stared at him. "I don't get it. Are you trying to scare me? You look more like a chihuahua than a vampire."

The vampire let out a growl as a stood up from his booth. "You'll regret that." He was on me in vampire speed. But I was ready for him. My hand was around his throat faster than he could even show his teeth. My nails dug into his skin. That wasn't something I'd learnt from anything Shadowhunter.

"You really want to do this, Dylan? Again? Last time I beat your ass I heard you went and cried to Maverick, like he would do anything to me." I pushed Dylan away with such force that he landed on the ground.

 **Want more? Be sure to check back once I post the story (coming TODAY)!**


	6. Chapter 6

I let Ashton lead me out of my manor not too sure where we were going. I wasn't sure if he knew where we were going. This was probably the first time in his life he had been in this area of Idris.

Finally, Ashton stopped at the bottom of a hill. "You can't see it, can you? The manor house?" he questioned. I shook my head. We had crossed hill upon hill in our trek from my home and now when I looked around all I saw was the valley of the meadow.

"I'm sorry," I started to say. _I'm weak._ I was a shadowhunter, I shouldn't have been having a near mental breakdown after breaking a childish toy. There were more important things going on.

Ashton stared at me with his brown eyes for a second; I could scarcely see the color in the dim light. "I never told you about my past, did I?" I shook my head realizing that he hadn't. There had never been time between the Institute murders and Jonathan.

Light suddenly shined from between his fingers, illuminating his face. He had pulled a witchlight out of his pocket. I hadn't even thought to bring mine, I'd left it behind in New York.

"I was thirteen when it happened," Ashton started to tell his tale. "We lived in this quaint little town where nothing happened. Then one night my family and I were walking home from dinner. I _felt_ the air change around us." The witchlight in his hand began to shake slightly. "I saw the demons as they attacked my parents, as they killed them. Instinct told me to take my sister and run, so I did, all the way to the police station." Sister? I had no idea Ashton even had a sibling. How had that never come up in conversation?

"They thought I was crazy when I started to spout about a demon killing my parents. When they found the remains they ruled it as an animal attack." Ashton stopped for a moment before continuing. "Since we had no living relatives my sister and I were sent into the system. It wasn't long before I was sent to a mental institution because I wouldn't stop spouting "nonsense" about the demons. I started to see them everywhere I went. It was a nightmare.

"And then the Shadowhunters found me. They explained to me that I had the Sight, that demons were real and I wasn't crazy. They told me about the Academy, a place where I could train to Ascend, to become a Shadowhunter. I could protect those who couldn't protect themselves, I could protect my sister. There wasn't a doubt within me as I took the offer."

Ashton had glanced down, staring into the witchlight as he told his tale but now he looked up and stared at me. I realized how dark it had become, the light in his hands the only thing illuminating the two of us. "I'm tell you this because I want you to know that I understand. I know what its like to have your parents killed in front of you, to not be able to get the revenge you think you need." His lips twisted into a crooked smile. "I stayed at the Institute because of you, you know? It amazed me when I saw you, so strong and fiery despite your father's death. I wanted to know you. I _needed_ to know you."

As Ashton stared at me I found myself having trouble forming words. What did I say to that? What could I say to that? "I'm not strong," I ended up saying. "It's a facade." How easy had it been to put up my walls, to pretend like I was fine? It was easier than dealing with the turmoil of emotions inside me, that was for sure.

"I know," Ashton said and I stared at him like he had slapped me in the face. "The first time I talked to you, I knew. It's the same thing that I've been doing since I started at the Academy. One day, one of the instructors pulled me aside. They told me it was okay to let myself feel my pain. That I had to feel it, so I could fight through it. I couldn't keep it all walled up inside because it would have killed me, one way or another. That man was your father, Clary."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek at the mention of him. "Valentine Morganstern gave me this witchlight. He told me to use it to light the darkness against my demons, to use it as a beacon, as hope for the life I wished to have." Ashton grasped my hand and pressed the witchlight into my palm. It was warm in my hands. "I think you need this more than I do, Clary."

"Thank you," I said to him as I clenched the light with my fist. The light momentarily disappearing until I relaxed my fingers.

Ashton smiled at me. As he did, I realized just how close we were sitting on the hill. His smile was warm and comforting and at that moment I wanted to- "I think you need to talk to Izzy," he cut off my thoughts.

"What?" I questioned, dismayed.

"She's your Parabatai, and yeah you've made some mistakes but she'll forgive you. You need to talk things out with her." I stared at him, knowing he was right.

Soon after Ashton and I sat on my living room couch in front of the warm heat of the fire. Our discarded coffee mugs sat on the table.

When we returned, I started a fire realizing the manor house was freezing. Ashton disappeared while I did this but returned moments later with two fresh steaming cups of coffee. I didn't question where the coffee came from because I knew there was nothing in the kitchen cabinets.

"-and Sebastian came inside all muddy and bleeding. You should have seen the look on my mother's face," I finished telling Ashton a story. Sitting in the living room like we were had brought up so many memories.

Ashton chuckled and opened his mouth to say something but that was when the front door opened and the Lightwood siblings stepped inside.

I saw Izzy eyeing us suspiciously. It didn't help that we were sitting close together on the couch under the same blanket.

Ashton gave me a look before clearing his throat and all but dragging Alec up the stairs to "talk about the plan for the mission tomorrow." This left me and Izzy alone in the living room.

"Are you okay?" She was the first to speak, stepping closer to the couch.

I kneaded the blanket in my hands. "No," I told her, this time truthfully. My Parabatai sat down next to me. "I'm stupid and stubborn and too proud to admit that I'm honestly a train wreck. I never properly grieved my parent's deaths. I put all my emotions into finding Jonathan, into hating Jonathan, but that didn't help, not really." I looked up at Izzy. "I made a rash decision I shouldn't have and hurt you. And I was too unreasonable to even apologize to you. Because it was wrong. You're my Parabatai and I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm so sorry, Izzy. I miss you."

Izzy didn't waste any time in throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. I hugged her back with the same force. "I missed you too, Clary."

Maybe not all was right in the world but at that moment I felt like everything was. In that moment I had my Parabatai back.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning we rode to Shadowhunter Academy on horseback. It would have taken hours on foot and there were no roads for a car to drive. As we were arriving, I got chills down my spine. I hadn't been there in months, even before my father was killed it had been a while.

The Academy, after closing in the early 1990s reopened just a few short years later to deal with the sudden influx of mundanes wishing to Ascend. The mundanes would train for six months, Ascend, and then train further until their skills passed the bar my father had decreed. From the Academy, they'd be sent to either the Los Angeles or New York Institute for training.

At the height of the Circle's campaign to create more Shadowhunters, the Academy had been filled to the brink. There had even been a waiting list. However, in recent years, the candidates had fallen off. Less had come in, some left of their own accord and some died in the Ascension ceremony.

After Ashton's class of Shadowhunters had been sent off to Los Angeles and/or New York there had only been a few mundanes at the Academy. And anyone who was left there in the past month was quickly rushed through the ceremony to become Nephilim, regardless of if they were strong enough yet.

It was announced recently that due to lack of interest on the part of the mundanes, there would not be a permanent replacement for my father. The Academy was being shut down once again.

We found the five newly Ascended waiting outside the Academy like Luke had told us they would be. They were all packed and ready to go, horses and all.

"You're late," said one of the girls in particular. With the runes etching her skin I almost didn't recognize her.

"Thalia!" I smiled, I was relieved to see that she had made it through the ceremony. I heard there had been a few deaths due to how rushed the ceremony had been, but I had been too afraid to ask if one had been her.

"The pass is flooded so we'll have to go around," Izzy explained. "That's why we were late." It had been bizarre, never had I seen a plain flooded like that in Idris.

"Let's just get going." Thalia seemed to be the self-proclaimed leader of her small group. As she climbed up on her horse so did the others.

I turned my horse around and the group of us began the trek back to Luke's. From there we would be piling into cars and then driving back to the airport.

It was a beautiful day in Idris, I noted as we rode through the plains. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. In the past, I would have enjoyed training outside in days like these. Now, I rarely had the chance to notice it.

One moment I was admiring the birds flying overhead and then the next thing I knew was the hard ground underneath me and a burning sensation in my shoulder.

I forced myself into a crouch. Before my mind could determine what had happened I saw Jonathan and Jace standing before us.

"Well, well, well..." Jonathan dragged on. "Time's up. What's your decision?"

I didn't have to glance to my right to know Izzy was right next to me. Ashton was to my left, as was Alec. The newly Ascended were behind us, pressed to the ground. Jonathan's hand was out. He was using whatever that power of his was to hold them down.

"You know what it is," I spat. Never in hell would we join them.

Jonathan smiled. I blinked and he was gone. But, the next second he was back again. This time with five Nephilim behind him. The Ascended.

"It's a pity." Jonathan unsheathed his sword, as he did I realized it was Sebastian's blade. "Your blood will be wasted. Kill them all."

I unsheathed my own sword. It wasn't _Heos._ I hadn't been able to even look at it before I left. Izzy's whip cracked as the Ascended rushes towards us but I realized with horror they ran past- to the small group behind us.

I didn't have a chance to turn, to help them, as Jonathan and Jace started towards us. The murderer wielded my brother's blade in one arm with ease.

"Jace, don't do this," I heard Alec pleading. He had his arrow notched, pointed at the blonds.

Jonathan glanced towards his companion before flinging out his hand. Alec was thrown off his feet, landing meters away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jace flinch.

"Alec!" His sister yelled at the same time I said, "Jace! You're just going to let him do that to your _parabatai_?!" I put all the emphasis I could into the final word.

Jace whipped out his own blade. "You don't understand, Clary. And you won't." I barely had time to roll to the side to dodge the dagger he threw my way. As I rolled I saw Ashton by Alec's side. He caught my eye and nodded. Alec was okay. Unconscious but alive.

I sprung back to my feet to see Izzy's whip coiled around Jace's sword arm. "Help them!" She didn't have to clarify. The newly Ascended. They needed help.

"Uh-uh, uh," a voice said behind me before something hard hit me on the back of my head and I crumpled to the floor. Spots clouded my vision as Jonathan stood over me, kicking my sword out of reach. I fumbled to get my dagger out of its sheath but he used his powers to hold me still. He pointed _Phaesphoros_ at my throat. Jonathan smiled wickedly. "The Morning Stars will go out..." The tip of the dagger pressed against my throat. "One by-"

A large figure collided with the Nephilim standing over me, shoving him off. _Phaesphoros_ flew through the air and sank into the ground a few feet away. I instantly felt Jonathan's hold over me deplete and I was on my feet, ignoring the pain in my head.

"Who are you?!" Jonathan looked crazed as he stood glaring at Ashton. He flung his hand out at him but nothing happened. He seemed to become even more enraged. "You're irrelevant!" In his fury he activated a seraph blade and leapt at Ashton.

"Ash!" I shouted as an aching sensation flowed through my parabatai bond. He glanced in my direction as I threw my brother's blade. I didn't have time to look if he caught it. I was already reaching for my dagger, running, and then hurling it at Jace.

He had been swinging his blade in an arc towards a weaponless Izzy. My dagger wasn't enough to make him drop his blade but it did cause him to stop and look at me. That was enough time for Izzy to grab the dagger and stab Jace's foot with it.

Jace roared with pain. Izzy threw the bloodied dagger back to me while she picked up her discarded whip on the ground. I stood shoulder to shoulder with her as the blond looked back at us. "You don't understand," he said again.

I tightened my grip on my dagger while Izzy cracked her whip. "I understand Jace," I said to him. "Jonathan has you whipped." At that second I threw my dagger and my parabatai lashed out her whip towards him. He could only block one.

Jace elected to block my dagger with his seraph blade, sending it spiraling into the grass. The sharp end of Izzy's whip cut a slash into the side of his face. He put his free hand to it, blood coating his palm as he drew it away. There was an unidentifiable look on his face as he ran towards us.

Izzy whipped her weapon at him but he dodged every lash. She tried once more but he grabbed the end of it, ignoring how it ripped the skin of his palm and pulled it out of Izzy's grasp. He lashed out at me with his blade first and I rolled. I turned expecting to still find Jace there, to catch his arm and wrench the blade form it but he was gone. Was he always so fast?

He slashed at Izzy now who dodged with as much accuracy as I had. I threw my fist out at him. Jace caught it with is bloodied palm without even looking. I attempted to swipe him with my feet but he was arching his blade towards me again; I had to drop to the ground for it to miss.

I saw a boot collide with the hilt of Jace's seraph blade, sending it flying like my dagger. The next moments happened in a blur of limbs and fists and kicks. Jace, somehow, was able to parry each and everyone of mine and Izzy's blows. To be honest, I had never paid much attention to Jace fighting before but had he always been that good? Or had he just been playing us for a fool?

I swung out to punch Jace again. This time, instead of blocking, he grabbed my wrist. He threw me into Izzy, knocking us both to the ground. "Stay down..." Jace told us. I wasn't sure if I imagined the strain in his voice.

The blond produced his own dagger from somewhere. Had he had that the entire time? Why hadn't he-

Jonathan suddenly appeared behind Jace. "You managed to survive today, Clarissa. Next time you won't be so lucky." He put his hand on his companion's shoulder and the two boys disappeared.

"Clary!" I heard a familiar voice shout. I looked up and noticed half a dozen Shadowhunters arriving on horseback. Luke was one of them.

"I'm okay," I said as he trotted to a stop next to Izzy and I. "Help-" I turned towards the newly Ascended and stopped speaking in horror. The once green grass had been soaked red with the blood of the four fallen bodies. None of Jonathon's people had fallen, they were all the newly Ascended. All of them gone, except Thalia who had completely vanished.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and the fight scene so I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review, thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

"What happened." It wasn't a question, more of an order for us to explain ourselves, from the Inquisitor herself. She stood behind my father's former desk staring at the four of us.

We had retreated to Shadowhunter Academy after the skirmish with Jonathan. One of the newly Ascended remained alive, just barely. It made the most sense to bring them here to heal them rather than Alicante as it was closer. While Thalia was still missing.

"We were on our way back to Luke's when Jonathan appeared out of no where," I started to explain. Inquisitor Herondale stared at the four of us with an unreadable look upon her face.

"Just Jonathan?"

"And Jace." I was thankful that Izzy answered for me. I didn't want to be the one to tell the Inquisitor that her grandson had spilt Nephilim blood. "Jonathan, he wanted us to join him. When we told him no, he disappeared and then came back with five of his own Shadowhunters."

"Their names," Imogen Herondale ordered.

"George Lovelace," Ashton answered. I cast a sideways glance at him. I had been relieved when I saw that he was okay. He had been limping and had a gash on his arm but other than that he was fine. "Kelsey Nighthunter, Brandon Hawkwell, Anastasia Redfox, and Fernando Wainheart." I grimaced remembering that Ashton had trained with them. They had all been his friends at one point.

The Inquisitor stared at us, willing us to continue with our account of what happened. "Jonathan knocked me out at the start of the fight," Alec explained. "With his powers."

"Jonathan sent his Nephilim to fight the newly Ascended. We tried to help them but they held us back. They wanted to kill us," I told her. "Then, as suddenly as they appeared they were gone."

Imogen sighed and turned around, facing the large window. "I'll be calling an emergency Council meeting this afternoon." She turned around looking at Alec in particular. "I expect to see you there." Of course, he was the only one of us who was 18, the only one who could attend.

As the Inquistor swept out of the room I plopped down on the plush sofa to my right. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. I felt guilty over the now deceased Shadowhunters, Thalia was still missing, and-

"Here." Izzy sat down next to me. Reading my mind she lifted the hair at the nape of my neck and drew a healing rune. The throbbing in my head ceased as soon as her stele left my skin.

"Thanks, Izzy." I somehow found the strength to smile at her.

"What's our next move?" Ashton asked from where he was leaning on the wall. I realized Alec and Izzy were looking to me as well. When had I become the leader?

"We wait and see what the Council says," I told them. Even if I did have a plan it wouldn't matter if the Council's ruling disagreed with it. I was only hoping it would be something that helped. No more blood needed to be spilled.

"Clary, can you stop pacing? You're giving me anxiety," Izzy asked as she sat on my bed. We were back at my manor house, awaiting Alec's return from the Council meeting.

"I'm too nervous," I told her. "I don't know what else to do."

She reached into my bag and pulled out my sketchbook that I look with me everywhere. "Draw." She held it out to me. Izzy knew it was the best way for me to get out my emotions. Or at least it used to be.

I shook my head. "I haven't been able to." I didn't need to elaborate for my Parabatai to know what I meant.

Izzy sighed and set the notebook down. "Then talk to me about Ashton."

 _That_ got me to stop pacing and stare at her. I felt my face heating up. "There's nothing to talk-"

"No," Izzy cut me off. "That doesn't work on me. Spill." Reluctantly I told her everything that had happened the previous night. She looked like a child, giddy on Christmas.

"Stop giving me that look," I told her. "You're creeping me out."

"He is _so_ into you, Clary!" Izzy said loud enough for Ashton to probably hear downstairs.

"Shh!" I yelled at her.

She ignored me. "And you're _so_ into him." Izzy's smile didn't look like it was disappearing from her face. "You two are too cute! Yesterday in the car-" I shuddered thinking about "-and how he defended you today!" I wanted to point out that any one of us would have done that for anyone but she kept talking. "When are you going to tell him you like him? Oh! I know, when we get back to New York the four of us can go on a double date! Granted Jonathan doesn't destroy the world or anything."

"I'm not-" I started. "I can't..." I decided upon instead. Because the last time I admitted I liked a guy, well it hadn't turned out well.

"Not every boy you fall in love with is going to be in league with a psychopath," my Parabatai told me. "Ashton isn't Jace."

I wanted to tell her that it wasn't just that. That with everything going on where did I have time for love? But then something snapped in my thoughts- _Jace._

I thought my words over carefully because Izzy would probably have my head for what I was about to say. "I don't think Jace was trying to kill us today." Quite a few things weren't adding up.

Surprisingly Izzy didn't tell me I was crazy. "I thought that too."

"Jonathan told Jace to kill us, but knocked out Alec himself," I said.

"Because he knew Jace wouldn't kill his Parabatai, no matter what," Izzy finished my thought. "When he and I alone were fighting, I thought he was just being sloppy but he didn't nick me with his blade. Not once."

"When he had us on the ground, he pulled out a dagger. He had it the entire time so why not use it before?" I posed. It would have been easy for him to stab one of us when we had been fighting in hand-to-hand combat. _You don't understand...stay down..._ Jace's words repeated in my head. Had he been trying to tell us something?

"Remember when he was so adamant the mole was George Lovelace? Had he been trying to warn us?" Izzy brought up another point I had completely forgotten. But that made me think of something else.

"The video-" I breathed. "The video of Jonathan. Jace told us to upload and save it in multiple places, but stole the flash drive. He wanted us to have a copy."

Izzy and I stared at each other for a moment, unable to understand what was going on. Neither of us had a clue what to say next.

Thankfully, we heard the front door open and then slam shut downstairs causing us to all but run down there.

Alec was standing in the living room with- "Magnus?" I questioned. The warlock flashed me a smile. "What's going on?" I asked his oh-so-obvious boyfriend.

"The Council has deliberated," Alec started. "And decided that Idris be closed off." Closed off? What did that mean? "In a few hours it will be impossible for anyone to get inside Idris. Only from the inside can the Consul open it. All children will be portaled into Idris and excluding a few adults to watch over them, all able-bodied Nephilim will be sent to five key Institutes- Los Angeles, London, Cairo, Beijing, and Melbourne. For the majority, the rest will be shut down until Jonathan is caught."

"What about us?" I asked, suddenly annoyed. New York was where everything started, shouldn't it be one of the key institutes?

Alec shook his head. "The Clave thinks we have failed to contain the Jonathan problem in the first place. We will remain stationed in New York but will not be apart of this operation."

I was infuriated. Jonathan had murdered my parents, had shattered my brother's mind, wanted to kill all of us, but we wouldn't be able to stop him?

"Why are they closing off Idris? To keep the children safe?" Izzy question.

Alec nodded. "It was agreed upon that the future of the Nephilim needed to be secured. Jonathan is a Shadowhunter, there's no other way to stop him from entering Idris."

"Then what's stopping him from entering any Institute?" Ashton asked and I nearly jumped. I hadn't realized he was even in the room.

"Ah," Magnus said. "That's where I come in. Did any of you happen to get any of Jonathan's blood on your weapons or clothes during the fight?"

Ashton disappeared from the living room and then reappeared again, my brother's blade in his hands. On it I recognized the tint of dried blood. So he had injured Jonathan in the fight.

Magnus took the blade from waving his glowing blue hands over it. The blood lifted from the blade, producing a floating mass of now liquified blood in the air until the sword was clean. Handing the blade back to Ashton he produced a vile from his pocket. The blood floated inside, filling it before he capped the lid on.

"I'll be able to create a ward with this to block Jonathon from entering," Magnus informed us. "He won't even be able to teleport in while this is in effect."

"What about the rest of them?" I asked. What was stopping any of his henchmen from entering as they were still Nephilim.

"I can create a ward for each person should I have their blood but that will take time and energy," Magnus told us. "I suggest you keep on your toes and defend the Institute like you would against any other threat."

There was a knock at the door and entered Luke carrying a suitcase. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized.

"Now that everyone's here we'd better get going," Magnus said. "The faster I get working on this anti-Jonathan ward the better."

"Luke? You're coming with us?" I asked him. He nodded to me. "What about Gwen and the kids?"

"They'll be fine here in Idris," Luke said and stepped closer to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I wasn't there for your father when he was killed. I wasn't there for your mother either. But I promised myself I would be there for you and your brother. If I can't protect my Parabatai then I'll protect his children."

Despite everything I found myself genuinely smiling at Luke as Izzy ran upstairs to grab our stuff and Magnus opened up a portal in the kitchen.

"Clary." Ashton stood behind me, holding out _Phaesphoros_. "You probably want this back."

I shook my head at him. "You gave me a witchlight. Now I'll give to you something my father gave to us, or well Sebastian in particular. I'm sure he won't mind." My brother was too lost in his own head to even know what a sword was.

Ashton smiled as he drew the sword back. "Thank you, Clary." I nodded to him as Izzy reappeared handing over my bag and suitcase.

With Ashton to my left and Izzy to my right we stepped into the portal and the Morgenstern manor house whipped away.


	9. Chapter 9

My feet touched the familiar hardwood floor as we stepped through the portal to the New York Institute.

"Meow." I looked down to see our audience of one cleaning his paws, seemingly unfazed by the portal. Church.

"Where's Mom and Dad, Church?" Izzy asked the cat. He looked at her before meowing again, not moving from his spot.

"Right here!" I heard Maryse's voice calling from the hall as she lugged a suitcase behind her. "I didn't realize you would all be back so soon."

"Are you going somewhere?" My Parabatai eyed the suitcase.

"Max and your father are going to Idris," the Head of the Institute explained. I hadn't even thought of Max when Alec said Idris was being sealed off.

"Why is Dad going?" Izzy questioned.

"The Inquisitor requested that one of us go along."

"I made sure to tell the twins about Max," Luke said from behind us. "He at least won't be lonely."

"Lucian!" Maryse exclaimed as we stepped aside for her to embrace her old friend. "What are you doing here?" It was odd - the Lightwood was almost smiling. With everything that had happened smiles from Maryse were few and far between.

"Couldn't leave the New York Institute completely undefended could we? I came to offer my services, if you'll have me."

As Luke and Maryse made small talk Izzy nudged me in the ribs and I looked at her seeing her eyes cast across the hall at Alec and Magnus talking quickly in hushed voices.

"Lucian?" Robert's voice was heard down the hall before he appeared, Max trailing behind him. I wasn't able to focus on his and Luke's reunion as the small boy stalked up to me, holding a book out. I realized it was Sebastian's.

"Can you give this back for me?" He asked. I knelt down, shaking my head.

"No, you can when he gets better and you come home," I told him. "Until then, you can keep it. Sebastian would want that." His eyes shined.

"Max." Izzy was holding out a dagger. "This is for you. It will keep you safe." No one else would have noticed the concern in her voice, but I was her Parabatai. Idris may be the safest place in the world but Izzy was still worried for her little brother.

Max took the dagger, sliding it into the pocket of his backpack. If his parents had seen it they would have probably taken it away. Why would a child need a weapon in Idris?

"Magnus," Maryse's commanding voice broke the quiet conversation the totally-obvious-boyfriends were having. "They're ready to go. The Clave grants you specific permission to create a portal into Alicante."

For once the warlock didn't have a comeback as a portal flared to life. What exactly had him and Alec been talking about?

Max and Robert said their goodbyes quickly before stepping through the portal. I found Izzy's hand and squeezed it slightly trying telepathically to tell her that her little brother would be fine.

As the portal closed Maryse held out an envelope to Magnus. The warlock took it, almost somewhat reluctant, as if for once he wasn't happy to accept payment. "Thank you for the portals, Magnus," the Head said. "As the Clave has decreed this marks the termination of your services to us."

The warlock seemed all but ready to turn on his heel and walk from the Institute when Alec pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and walked forward, saying one word with as much defiance as I had ever heard from the eldest Lightwood: " _No_."

"Alec you were personally at the Clave meeting, you know what was decreed-"

He cut his mother off. "What the Clave decreed is bullshit."

"Alexander!"

"The Clave has cast us aside, why should we bother to listen to them? The only people with any chance of stopping Jonathan are in this room and that includes Magnus." Glancing at my parabatai as her brother spoke I noticed Izzy grinning from ear to ear.

"Alexander-" his mother tried again.

"Don't try to silence me like a child," his voice dripped with lethal anger.

"You are _my_ child, and you will do what I say." Maryse's eyes were blazing. "This is a family matter, Magnus, you need to go."

It was hard to ignore Alec reaching down and slipping his finger's into the warlock's. "Magnus is my family." He didn't waste any time as he kissed his boyfriend. I wasn't sure if Izzy squealed her joy aloud or I felt it through the bond. "I love him and if you weren't so blind to everything around you you would have seen that already."

The shock was plain to see on Maryse's face. It changed to rage in a millisecond. "What have you done to my son!" She would have attacked the warlock had Luke not held her back.

"I've done a lot of things to your son, just last week on the couch I-"

Alec cut Magnus off, obviously not wanting the entire Institute to know about his sex life. "He's let me be who I am, someone I was afraid to think you'd never accept. I don't know why I'm surprised to see that I was right."

"Get out," Maryse said quietly. "Get out!" She shouted louder.

"With pleasure." With their hands still intertwined Alec turned and lead his boyfriend from the Institute. The slamming of the front door was almost deafening in the quietness that befell the hall.

"Mother, I thought you should know I'm dating a vampire," Izzy added. "His name is Simon and I was thinking you could meet him later in the Sanctuary-"

Maryse's heels slammed on the floor and she turned and walked down the hall towards her study.

"I'm going to make sure she's okay," Luke announced as he ran after her.

"There's never a dull moment here is there?" Ashton asked. He had been keeping out of everything that had transpired, standing in the corner of the room.

"No, not really. When a crazed Shadowhunter isn't trying to kill us, leave it up to my mother to be a raging bitch." My Parabatai got a glint in her eyes.

"Izzy, no, Izzy," I begged her. I knew that look.

"I was exhausted but now I'm wide awake! I'm hungry, why won't you let me cook?" She asked.

"I don't even care how bad it tastes, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," Ashton said. None of us had eaten since before the attack today.

"I know the perfect thing to make!" Izzy started to walk towards the kitchen, Ashton following her. I pulled the back of his shirt to stop him.

"Ash, you will be dead if she feeds you."

He stopped and turned, looking at me. I hastily released my grip on his shirt. "At least I won't be hungry."

"Clary, you wound me with your words," Izzy said in mock sadness.

"I'm sorry, Iz," I told her. "But we already nearly died once today. I don't want to make it a second time. Ash, come to Taki's instead with me, will you? Izzy, you can stay and succumb to your cooking if you want."

Izzy dragged me back before we could make it to the front door. "Did you just ask Ashton out?"

"I didn't-" I cut myself off, suddenly turning red. Because I had indeed just asked Ashton to go out with me.


	10. Chapter 10

Taki's was the same as ever as the three of us walked inside. We were a bit hungrier than we were when we left the Institute, Izzy making us stop at a convenience store so she could buy a prepaid phone. Asking her mother back for hers was most likely a bad idea.

"Isabelle!" A faerie exclaimed as the three of us sat in a booth, My Parabatai and I facing Ashton. It was Kaelie, a regular waitress. "And Clary and...Ashton?" He nodded in confirmation. "Is your ridiculous downworlder ban over?"

"No," Izzy said. "We just don't feel inclined to follow it."

Kaelie laughed. "Alright then, what'll you be having?" We ordered and she drifted off to take it to the kitchen. A dark figure loomed over our table.

"Simon!" Izzy squealed as she jumped up, throwing her arms around the vampire's neck. Apparently that's what she wanted the phone for. "My mother knows about us and wants you over for dinner."

Simon seemed to turn even paler than he already was. "Wait, what?"

She let out a laugh. "I'm only kidding. About the dinner part, anyway. I did tell her and..." she trailed off as she lead Simon away into a booth of their own. I didn't miss Izzy's glance at me that said _have fun_ , however. I wanted to silverware on the table at her but resisted.

When I turned back to Ashton I saw his head was resting on the table. "I got used to the gnawing hunger in my gut. Sleep sounds like a wonderful option now."

"Give me your arm," I told him as I took out my stele from my pocket. He slid it out towards me willingly. I drew a quick endurance rune on it. As my stele left his skin, Ashton lifted his head up, already looking more energized.

"Thank you, Clary. Do you want me to draw one for you?" I shook my head. As drained as I was I wasn't going to fall asleep. I had sent a fire message to Silent City on our way here and I was expecting a return. I was hoping that in his time there Sebastian had shown some improvement.

My hand was still half-way across the table and Ashton took that as a sign to brush his fingers against mine softly. "I know what you're thinking about."

"Y-you do?" I hated that I stuttered. Pull it together, Clary.

"Jonathan, Jace, everything that happened today; probably your brother too." Relief flushed through me as he spoke. If only he knew what I had really been thinking about when he touched my hand.

"Oh, yeah," I said quickly. "I just don't know what we're going to do."

"We'll figure it out, together." He smiled at me and the butterflies in my stomach started flapping their wings faster.

As Kaelie arrived back with our drinks I felt my phone buzz. Looking down in my lap at it I found a text from Izzy: _how's your date?_

Simon and her were sitting in a booth behind Ashton. She was grinning widely at me. _Shut up_ , I texted her, moving my attention back to the boy across from me. He was practically inhaling his soda.

Ashton caught me staring at him. "Is something wrong?"

"I've never done this before," I admitted. I had never been on a date before. Even with Jace, that didn't count. We had never gone out, just kissed a few times before he turned to the dark side.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious," Ashton laughed. I gawked at him. Was it that obvious? Had he noticed how much of a bumbling idiot I felt like?

He reached across the table and took the straw out of my drink that I had just put in. "The bendy side of the straw doesn't go into the drink. That's where you drink out of." He turned my straw over and placed it back in my drink.

"Oh...right." I hadn't even noticed it was a bendy straw but that hadn't been what I was talking about. My phone buzzed again. Izzy. _What is he doing with your drink? Oh wait! Are you two lovebirds sharing?_

I wanted to tell her if she wanted to know what was going on to come back over here but I didn't. I texted her something else instead. _He doesn't think this is a date._

I didn't have to look at Izzy to know she was probably keeled over in laughter. I felt it through our Parabatai bond. _Oh Clary, sweet Clary, you're an idiot._

I shot daggers at her with my eyes before turning off my phone. Ashton finally looked behind him, probably trying to see who I kept trying to kill with a look.

"Izzy was being incredibly affectionate with Simon," I made up a lie on the spot. "It was nauseating. I was trying to get her to stop, or go somewhere else."

"I think it's kind of romantic," Ashton told me. "The two of them, I mean. Defying the odds to be together and all that."

Our conversation stopped when Kaelie returned with our food. There was no time for words as we stuffed our faces. I had been hungry but I hadn't realized how hungry I had been. I guess nearly dying and going on a date-that's-not-a-date with a guy would do that to a girl.

•••

That night I had planned to stay up and wait for a reply from Silent City. However, as soon as my head had hit the pillow I was out like a light.

When I awoke the next morning, or afternoon as it was nearly 1 o'clock, I attempted to shield myself from the sun's rays as they shined through the window.

I turned and noticed a note on my bedside table. I was instantly awake.

 _Clarissa,_  
 _I regret to inform you that your brother's condition has not improved. We are doing everything that we can do please remain hopeful,_  
 _Brother Zachariah_

Sebastian wasn't getting any better. I don't know why I thought he would. They told me there was a slim chance in the first place they could make it better. I didn't know why I let myself hope.

My door opened slowly. "Clary...?" Izzy ventured as she appeared in my room.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I pushed the blankets off of me. I crumpled the note up and threw it into the trash bin.

"I wasn't sure if Ashton was in here with you." She was holding a box. I ignored it for a second.

"Raziel, Izzy, no." I got out of my bed. Ashton and I had gone straight to our separate rooms when we returned to the Institute. Izzy hadn't been with us, she had left with Simon.

"What? Why do you seem so mortified by the idea of having sex with him? I mean if I wasn't with Simon I would-"

"Izzy!" I cut her off.

"Oh, wait I get it. It's your first time, that's why your nervous and-"

"Isabelle Lightwood!" I shouted. "What do you want?"

She laughed. "Get dressed. We're going to bring Alec some of his stuff." See, when you're Parabatai you don't get asked to go places. You just go.

"Give me a minute. I need to shower."

"Don't take too long," Izzy said as she left my room. "I can't wait to see Alec finally out of the closet."


	11. Chapter 11

"So what happened?" Izzy asked me as we drove to Magnus's. Or she drove; I was never touching a steering wheel as long as I lived again.

"Nothing," I told her. "We ate and then came back to the Institute and went to bed."

Izzy groaned. "Why must you agonize me with your relationship? Why can't you just kiss the guy already?"

I ignored my parabatai and looked out the window watching mundanes doing mundane things like children playing hopscotch on the sidewalk or people walking their dogs. I think I would die of boredom as a mundane.

I looked back at Izzy, opening my mouth to tell her something but ultimately decided against it. She'd make a big whole deal out of nothing and I didn't want to deal with it. Not right now.

I remained silent until we arrived at Magnus's loft, Izzy rattling on about her date with Simon. We brought the couple of boxes up to the front door and knocked expecting the flamboyant warlock to answer.

Instead, Alec opened the door. "You're late."

"Does this make up for it?" Izzy grinned as she pulled the bow and quiver from one of the boxes.

Her brother eagerly took the weapon from her. "How did you sneak this out past Mom?"

"Do you think you're the only one who knows how to sneak out of the Institute to see their downworlder boyfriend?" Izzy asked him as he made our way inside.

"How long did you know?" Alec asked as he placed the bow and quiver down on the table. "Oh, and take your shoes off. Magnus just had the carpet cleaned. He said he didn't want the blood and demon guts that's on the bottom of your shoes on the floor."

As I untied my boots a small fluffy thing made its way over to me. Chairman Meow purred as he rubbed himself against me. I picked up the fluffy cat as Izzy answered her brother.

"Which one? How long I knew you were gay or how long I've known you've been with Magnus?" Izzy questioned. "Because you haven't exactly been discrete about either one."

"What are you talking about? I'm discrete." Alec seemed offended.

Izzy laughed, hard. "Alec, since you were old enough to even notice boys I've seen you looking at them. Remember our conversation about Sebastian? And what about that visit from Mark? And then Magnus comes along and-"

"Okay," Alec cut his sister off. "I get it. I wasn't very discrete." He was silent for a moment. "How's Mom?"

Izzy shrugged. "Haven't seen her. I think she's hiding in her office. If it helps I don't think she can stomach the sight of me either. I told her I was dating Simon."

"That's her problem," Alec said. "But Iz, Clary, I do want you guys to know that I'm still in this with you. Even if I wanted to I can't get around the fact that my Parabatai is in league was a psychotic murderer who wants to kill us all."

I looked at Izzy. Now would be as good as time as ever to bring up what we had discussed in Idris. She caught my eye and nodded.

"About Jace," my parabatai started. "We were starting to think he might not be as much as a willing complaint to Jonathan as we thought."

Alec held up his hand reframing his sister from saying anything more. "I'm stopping you right there, Izzy. I'm not going down this rabbit hole with you two thinking that Jace might not be as evil as we all think-"

"But he's not!" Izzy exclaimed. "He warned us about the video, tried to warn us about George. When he was fighting us, Alec, I saw his eyes. They weren't the eyes of someone who wanted to kill us."

"Don't you think I'd want more than anything for Jace to be good? To be on our side? He's my parabatai goddammit." Alec flashed his parabatai rune on his wrist. "He's a con artist. He was deceiving us for years. This is just another ploy of his to draw us in. And once we follow the 'Jace is actually good' train Jonathan is just going to snap the trap."

"Can't you feel-"

"No, Izzy. I can't feel anything through our bond except a pitch black void. That's how I know there's not a shred of good left in him."

The three of us were silent for a moment. Then, Magnus appeared out of nowhere scaring the bejeebies out of me causing me to drop Chairman Meow. The warlock was holding cans of expensive-looking cat food.

Magnus looked at the three of us. "Ah. Well this all looks very intense, I'm just going to go feed Chairman Meow. Come on, _mon chat_." He clicked his tongue and the cat meowed running after his towards the kitchen.

"Magnus, wait!" I called as I followed him leaving Izzy and Alec alone.

I sat in the front steps awaiting the silent brother and Sebastian. Magnus had agreed to my request and I had sent a Fire message.

 _Clarissa Morganstern,_ I heard Brother Zachariah's voice in my head before I saw him and Sebastian walking down the street.

To my horror I realized Sebastian had gotten worse. He didn't so much as glance my way. He seemed docile, zombie-like.

Swallowing my worries I stood up off the step. "Come on." I led the two Nephilim into Magnus's loft. We had Sebastian sit down in the chair Magnus had designated for him already.

"J-Brother Zachariah!" Magnus exclaimed exiting his room holding and spell book.

 _Magnus,_ Brother Zachariah said. _It's been too long._

"Yes, decades hasn't it?" Magnus filtered through his book. I wasn't aware the warlock and silent brother were acquaintances. "I saw Tessa a while ago. She's doing well, living in Paris now I believe. Aren't you due to see her soon?"

 _In a few months, yes._ Brother Zachariah was then silent leaving me to wonder who this Tessa they were talking about was and why both warlock and silent brother would have ties to her.

Magnus looked at me. "Now, theoretically putting this block in Sebastian's mind will work. Do you happen to know when Damian got ahold of his mind for the first time?"

I shook my head. It was a thing I had been wondering. For how long had Sebastian really been my brother? "It had to be after we came to New York. Maybe even that first night, at your party."

Magnus made note. "Then I'll place the block at his first memory of portaling here."

"And he won't remember anything?" Izzy asked, standing next to me. Alec was leaning against the wall across the room, his arms crossed. There was still tension between the two siblings.

The warlock shook his head. "And if this works it's imperative that he doesn't. Any leak in memories could force him back into this state. If it comes to that I'll have to reissue the block." He set the spell book down as placed his hands on Sebastian's head. "Let's begin." Izzy squeezed my hand for support.

For the first time I saw Magnus's cat eyes, his warlock's mark, as soft blue light flowed out from his fingers.

 _It will be okay,_ I heard Brother Zachariah's voice in my head. _Magnus Bane is to be trusted._

When Magnus stepped back Sebastian's head hung. "It is done," the warlock declared.

I knelt down in front of my brother. "Sebastian-" his eyes flung open, staring at me for a moment before darting around the room. Finally, they landed back on me.

"Clary? What's going on? Where are we? This isn't the Institute and who's-" I cut him off as I suddenly hugged him because I knew it was him. I knew I had my brother back.

"It's a long story."

Magnus had lent Sebastian and I use of his bedroom so I could delicately explain to him what had happened the last few months. Thankfully, he didn't seem to remember any of it: the block was doing its work. For now, anyway.

My heart ached when I had to tell him the bad of it all: that he had nearly tried to kill us, that he had nearly killed Max, that Jonathan had killed Mom. When I saw tears welling in his eyes I had to stop because my words were coming out in choked sobs. It was like reliving Mom's death all over again.

Finally, I was about to get ahold of myself and finish the story with everything that had happened the last few days with Idris being sealed off and how I decided to bring him to Magnus.

"Where's Phaesphoros?" Was the first thing Sebastian asked.

"I-" I didn't actually know where his blade was. We had never found it. "Jonathan probably has it."

"Good. Two birds with one stone. Find Jonathan, we find my blade. And then I'll run him through with it. That bastard deserves to die for all that he has done."


End file.
